Venice enthroned. Copy after Veronese

This 1875 copy after Veronese's allegorical painting of Venice enthroned by Eilif Peterssen demonstrates the central role of copying in the formation of 19th-century Scandinavian painters who studied in Italy. Veronese's elaborate allegorical decorations for the Palazzo Ducale and other Venetian buildings were among the canonical works that foreign painters studied and copied as part of their academic training. Peterssen's copy of this Veronese subject — Venice personified as a triumphant figure receiving homage — brought a portion of the Venetian decorative tradition to Oslo's National Museum, where it documents the Norwegian painter's Italian formation.

Peterssen attempts to capture Veronese's distinctive qualities in this copy — the cool, silvery palette, the composed elegance of his figure types, and the airy spatial grandeur of his decorative compositions.